It’s easy to see why so many children have wanted, at some point, to do the same. Growing up though, there’s a different appreciation.

'Romantic vision'

The Flying Scotsman and other steam engines offer a glimpse to a bygone age - especially when it comes to train travel.

Whether travelling by steam train genuinely was better than today, or if it’s a case of rose-tinted specs, is a debate for another time.

But the idea of riding behind a steam engine being more romantic than travelling by South West Trains is easy to grasp.

The Flying Scotsman comes from a time when Britain’s railways found it much easier to capture the public’s imagination.

Trains had glamorous names; The Cornish Riviera Express, the Golden Arrow and, of course, the Flying Scotsman (there was a separate train, as well as the locomotive) with luxuries such as cocktail bars, dining cars and hairdressers.

Railway companies unashamedly chased publicity stunts; the London and North Eastern Railway’s Flying Scotsman was the first engine to reach 100mph while the Great Western’s Cheltenham Flyer express was heralded as the world’s fastest regular passenger train.

(Image: Tim Anderson)

Both companies sought maximum publicity for their achievements.

Everything that people like about steam engines is encapsulated by Flying Scotsman - and it’s why they’re willing to spend minutes, even hours waiting to see it.

Hopefully, they won’t be disappointed.

Are you a steam aficionado? What was it that drove your passion for steam trains? Let us know your memories in the comments section below.